It's time to beat some heads in!
Let's take a look at what happens when an NU powerhouse enters the OU League!
'Cept that I need some help with it. :P
I've marked everything that I've been having trouble with in red. May I have a hand with these things?
I've marked everything I've changed in green. Thanks for your help! ^^
Let's take a look at what happens when an NU powerhouse enters the OU League!
'Cept that I need some help with it. :P
I've marked everything that I've been having trouble with in red. May I have a hand with these things?
I've marked everything I've changed in green. Thanks for your help! ^^
The team at a glance:
How did I get the team, you ask?
After seeing that Marowak had the pure strength of a rampaging truck that's been possessed by the devil who had laser eyes and was on steroids to boot, I decided that I wanted to put this deadly runaway nuke on a team to test it out for myself.
So I picked up my trusty word document, and made a short list of all the things that would hinder a Marowak sweep.
-Burns, or Will o' Wisp.
-The fact that Marowak is very frail.
-Priority users.
-Marowak's naturally low Speed.
-Hypnosis users and the Sleep condition.
After much thought, and even more procrastination, I decided to bring Marowak from UU to OU. Seeing as I wanted my Marowak to sweep and none of the UU Flash Fire 'mons can tank very well at all, I dragged poor Marowak into OU, where it had more of a chance to have it's counters countered.
I've always had a soft spot for Gardeviour, and it's a huge shame that more of her isn't seen in competitive play.
Her original use was a Double Screener, but I decided against it because this Marowak didn't need any set up time, and my Zapdos is bulky enough to take a few hits as is. So, I made a unique Mean Look set, to go with a trapping theme. More below.
Although there's an abundance of priority users in the OU metagame, most of these priorities come from the same 3 Pokemon: Scizor, Lucario and Mamoswine. I made a Scarf Magnezone to take the attacks, then take out the offender easily. This oversized magnet can also sweep at a pinch, as well.
At first, I considered Jolteon. Jolteon can Pass speed, but lacks Zapdos's typing and bulk. So an inferior choice, which is a shame 'cos I'm fond of the Eeveelutions (hey, who isn't? :P).
The lead. Bulky enough to return and take a few hits when it needs to, and set uo much needed Stealth Rock for Marowak to abuse. I played around with a Lapras set running Block to run with the trapping theme, but having a Baton Pass Zapdos lead didn't end up working overly well. Swampert meets my needs fine.
The Team:
The Lead:
BigFish @Leftovers
252 HP / 4 Attack / 252 Defence
Relaxed nature
Torrent
-Stealth Rock
-Earthquake
-Roar
-Ice Beam
Standard fare Swampert lead. The main reason I chose it was because I needed another bulky Pokemon to help get Marowak on the field, and I needed a good lead who wouldn't die like most leads do, as well as one that can set up Stealth Rock. He also has good synergy with Heatran. I chose him over Jirachi (who may argueably be a better choice) because to me, Jirachi isn't Jirachi without Thunder, Rain Dance, Water Pulse and U-turn.
If I were to switch Swampert with Jirachi, what set do you recommend? Which would be the better lead for my team, overall?
The Sweeper:
THWHACK @ Thick Club
252 Attack / 252 Speed / 4 HP
Adamant nature
Rock Head
-Earthquake
-Double Edge
-Fire Punch
-Stone Edge
Overkill attack + Good type coverage = >:3
Seriously. My face when this scary nuke with a club starts sweeping.
I went for Bonemerang over Earthquake 'cos of the ability to break Substitues. It has the same Base Power as Earthquake considering it always hits at least twice (if it hits at all, that is), and can hit up to 5 times, completely smashing anything and everything that isn't immune to Ground.
I chose Earthquake over Bonemerang because Bonemerang only hits twice, not up to 5 times like I thought. That and if I'm passing Agilities, then Marowak will be faster then potential Sub users.
The Unexpected Trapper:
Heartbeat @ Leftovers
252 HP / 48 Defence / 176 Special Defence / 32 Speed
Modest Nature
Trace
-Mean Look
-Psychic
-Toxic
-Wish
I've run a similar set on Umbreon before, and even though Gradevoir doesn't have the sheer survivability that Umbreon does, she does have Trace. The main idea behind this unexpected beauty is to trap something that would otherwise be troublesome, Mean Look, Wish, then stall away. Psychic is for Poison types, which leaves me walled against Steel types, but hey. That's what Magnezone is for.
I've considered running Mean Look, Thunderbolt, Hidden Power Ice and Psychic to make a more offensively minded trapper who can sweep if Marowak falls. Does anyone have any suggestions?
The Status Absorber:
Crossfoot @ Leftovers
248 HP / 56 Special Attack / 204 Special Defence
Modest nature
Flash Fire
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
-Lava Plume
-Dragon Pulse
Standard Restalk set, save I opted for Dragon Pulse over Earth Power because of better type coverage. The Heatran is meant to come in on Will o' Wisp/Hypnosis/Toxic/Thunder Wave/God knows what else, sleep it off, and inflict burn/pain on whoever decides to stay in. If someone with Earthquake, Earth Power or another strong Ground move wanders in, I switch to Zapdos, and start setting up.
This team badly needed a Restalker, and Heatran was my best option without compromising any of my other teammembers. Are there any other options that might end up better, at the cost of one of my 'not so useful' 'mons?
The Priority Killer:
BZZT @ Choice Scarf
252 Special Attack / 252 Speed / 4 HP
Niave nature
Magnet Pull
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power Fire
-Flash Cannon
-Explosion
This is the 'mon who I'm most unsure of. When I think of the word 'priority', I see three Pokemon: Scizor, Lucario and Mamoswine. While the set isn't exactly geared towards killing these three, they're the main reason I have Magnezone on my team. Even though I'm not a huge fan of Choice items, even I agree that the speed is sorely needed. I would have preferred a more defensive set to take some of the moves that would threaten the other team members, but I don't think it'd go with a Choice Scarf equipped.
Are there any common priority users I've forgotten? What should I do to combat them? And if I wanted to take down the priority users with a set designed to do it, what should I look at running?
Changed the nature from Modest to Naive, which in hindsight I should have done earlier. :P
The Baton Passer:
Thunderbird @ Liechi Berry
248 HP / 138 Defence / 88 Special Attack / 36 Speed
Timid nature
Pressure
-Baton Pass
-Substitute
-Agility
-Thunderbolt
As you've no doubt guessed, Zapdos sends a nice Substitute and an Agility or two over to Marowak. Marowak then beats up everything that looks at it sideways, it's counters defeated by it's teammates.
Liechi Berry over Leftovers for that little bit more attack, 'cos I couldn't run Sword's Dance on Marowak (although I did consider Belly Drum on the bugger, can you imagine how much pain that'd inflict? o_o) Overall I'm happy with my Zappy, but I'm still open for suggestions. Don't hesitate to let me know of a better EV spread, moveset or a better 'mon for the job :P
That's essentially my team! ^^ Please don't be scared of giving advice, demanding retribution or even telling me I'm an idiot, 'cos I'm always eager for more help.
Thanks! ^^
How did I get the team, you ask?
After seeing that Marowak had the pure strength of a rampaging truck that's been possessed by the devil who had laser eyes and was on steroids to boot, I decided that I wanted to put this deadly runaway nuke on a team to test it out for myself.
So I picked up my trusty word document, and made a short list of all the things that would hinder a Marowak sweep.
-Burns, or Will o' Wisp.
-The fact that Marowak is very frail.
-Priority users.
-Marowak's naturally low Speed.
-Hypnosis users and the Sleep condition.
After much thought, and even more procrastination, I decided to bring Marowak from UU to OU. Seeing as I wanted my Marowak to sweep and none of the UU Flash Fire 'mons can tank very well at all, I dragged poor Marowak into OU, where it had more of a chance to have it's counters countered.
I've always had a soft spot for Gardeviour, and it's a huge shame that more of her isn't seen in competitive play.
Her original use was a Double Screener, but I decided against it because this Marowak didn't need any set up time, and my Zapdos is bulky enough to take a few hits as is. So, I made a unique Mean Look set, to go with a trapping theme. More below.
Although there's an abundance of priority users in the OU metagame, most of these priorities come from the same 3 Pokemon: Scizor, Lucario and Mamoswine. I made a Scarf Magnezone to take the attacks, then take out the offender easily. This oversized magnet can also sweep at a pinch, as well.
At first, I considered Jolteon. Jolteon can Pass speed, but lacks Zapdos's typing and bulk. So an inferior choice, which is a shame 'cos I'm fond of the Eeveelutions (hey, who isn't? :P).
The lead. Bulky enough to return and take a few hits when it needs to, and set uo much needed Stealth Rock for Marowak to abuse. I played around with a Lapras set running Block to run with the trapping theme, but having a Baton Pass Zapdos lead didn't end up working overly well. Swampert meets my needs fine.
The Team:
The Lead:
BigFish @Leftovers
252 HP / 4 Attack / 252 Defence
Relaxed nature
Torrent
-Stealth Rock
-Earthquake
-Roar
-Ice Beam
Standard fare Swampert lead. The main reason I chose it was because I needed another bulky Pokemon to help get Marowak on the field, and I needed a good lead who wouldn't die like most leads do, as well as one that can set up Stealth Rock. He also has good synergy with Heatran. I chose him over Jirachi (who may argueably be a better choice) because to me, Jirachi isn't Jirachi without Thunder, Rain Dance, Water Pulse and U-turn.
If I were to switch Swampert with Jirachi, what set do you recommend? Which would be the better lead for my team, overall?
The Sweeper:
THWHACK @ Thick Club
252 Attack / 252 Speed / 4 HP
Adamant nature
Rock Head
-Earthquake
-Double Edge
-Fire Punch
-Stone Edge
Overkill attack + Good type coverage = >:3
Seriously. My face when this scary nuke with a club starts sweeping.
I went for Bonemerang over Earthquake 'cos of the ability to break Substitues. It has the same Base Power as Earthquake considering it always hits at least twice (if it hits at all, that is), and can hit up to 5 times, completely smashing anything and everything that isn't immune to Ground.
I chose Earthquake over Bonemerang because Bonemerang only hits twice, not up to 5 times like I thought. That and if I'm passing Agilities, then Marowak will be faster then potential Sub users.
The Unexpected Trapper:
Heartbeat @ Leftovers
252 HP / 48 Defence / 176 Special Defence / 32 Speed
Modest Nature
Trace
-Mean Look
-Psychic
-Toxic
-Wish
I've run a similar set on Umbreon before, and even though Gradevoir doesn't have the sheer survivability that Umbreon does, she does have Trace. The main idea behind this unexpected beauty is to trap something that would otherwise be troublesome, Mean Look, Wish, then stall away. Psychic is for Poison types, which leaves me walled against Steel types, but hey. That's what Magnezone is for.
I've considered running Mean Look, Thunderbolt, Hidden Power Ice and Psychic to make a more offensively minded trapper who can sweep if Marowak falls. Does anyone have any suggestions?
The Status Absorber:
Crossfoot @ Leftovers
248 HP / 56 Special Attack / 204 Special Defence
Modest nature
Flash Fire
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
-Lava Plume
-Dragon Pulse
Standard Restalk set, save I opted for Dragon Pulse over Earth Power because of better type coverage. The Heatran is meant to come in on Will o' Wisp/Hypnosis/Toxic/Thunder Wave/God knows what else, sleep it off, and inflict burn/pain on whoever decides to stay in. If someone with Earthquake, Earth Power or another strong Ground move wanders in, I switch to Zapdos, and start setting up.
This team badly needed a Restalker, and Heatran was my best option without compromising any of my other teammembers. Are there any other options that might end up better, at the cost of one of my 'not so useful' 'mons?
The Priority Killer:
BZZT @ Choice Scarf
252 Special Attack / 252 Speed / 4 HP
Niave nature
Magnet Pull
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power Fire
-Flash Cannon
-Explosion
This is the 'mon who I'm most unsure of. When I think of the word 'priority', I see three Pokemon: Scizor, Lucario and Mamoswine. While the set isn't exactly geared towards killing these three, they're the main reason I have Magnezone on my team. Even though I'm not a huge fan of Choice items, even I agree that the speed is sorely needed. I would have preferred a more defensive set to take some of the moves that would threaten the other team members, but I don't think it'd go with a Choice Scarf equipped.
Are there any common priority users I've forgotten? What should I do to combat them? And if I wanted to take down the priority users with a set designed to do it, what should I look at running?
Changed the nature from Modest to Naive, which in hindsight I should have done earlier. :P
The Baton Passer:
Thunderbird @ Liechi Berry
248 HP / 138 Defence / 88 Special Attack / 36 Speed
Timid nature
Pressure
-Baton Pass
-Substitute
-Agility
-Thunderbolt
As you've no doubt guessed, Zapdos sends a nice Substitute and an Agility or two over to Marowak. Marowak then beats up everything that looks at it sideways, it's counters defeated by it's teammates.
Liechi Berry over Leftovers for that little bit more attack, 'cos I couldn't run Sword's Dance on Marowak (although I did consider Belly Drum on the bugger, can you imagine how much pain that'd inflict? o_o) Overall I'm happy with my Zappy, but I'm still open for suggestions. Don't hesitate to let me know of a better EV spread, moveset or a better 'mon for the job :P
That's essentially my team! ^^ Please don't be scared of giving advice, demanding retribution or even telling me I'm an idiot, 'cos I'm always eager for more help.
Thanks! ^^
